Embodiments according to the present invention relate generally to fluid vessels and more particularly to bathing devices, systems and methods.
The act of bathing generally seems a straightforward, routine act. However, for some members of the population, bathing in a conventional bathtub or shower stall simply is not practicable. For instance, some people prefer to sit while bathing but may be unable to step over the elevated side of a standard bathtub. In addition, people with certain medical conditions, such as artificial hips and/or arthritis, benefit greatly from soaking baths.
Prior attempts have been made at providing modified bathtubs for such people. For example, a walk-in type bathtub has been previously available. Such bathtub includes a generally waist-high wall surrounding a fluid containing vessel. Formed through the wall is a doorway enabling entry and exit to and from the vessel. Sealing the doorway is usually a hinged door that must remain closed during the times at which the vessel is being filled and drained of fluid. Within the vessel, there may be included or inserted a form of seating surface so that a user may be seated in an upright seated position above the floor of the vessel.
While the prior walk-in type bathtub designs of the past generally address some disadvantages of standard continuous wall tubs and shower stalls, there remains room for improvement in the art. For example, the hinged door provided on prior designs may cause inconvenience to some users. That is, the door must remain closed, in a sealing position, while the tub is being filled with and drained of water or other fluid.
Such closed door creates a barrier to any entry or exit to or from the bath at the user's leisure or convenience during the filling or draining process. Accordingly, a user must remain inside the tub during filling and draining. Not only would such position likely be uncomfortable for users that may be nude, and thus chilled, during the filling and draining process, it is a waste of the user's time. Assuming a “fast” fill rate of about 15 gallons per minute and a tub size of between 50 and 100 gallons, a user could waste up to 5-15 minutes per bath, or more, of combined restricted user time during the fill and drain procedures. If a bath is taken every day, such time aggregates to more than two straight days of wasted time per year.
Another example of room for improvement is that, to be properly utilized, some prior devices require floor space outside of a bathroom. Some prior devices are not amenable to replacement of existing bathroom fixtures, whether due to device size, or due to the bathing requirements of other members of the user's household. Additionally, once a tub is filled with water or other fluid, the space generally occupied by the tub generally serves a single purpose. It may be desirable to virtually hide the tub so that other uses may be made of the space, even if the tub is filled.
Accordingly, there remains room in the art for improved bathing devices, systems and methods that may provide improved time usage and/or space savings.